Immunosuppression by ultraviolet B rays via eyes in mice.

Irradiation by ultraviolet B (UV-B; 280-320 nm) initiates suppression of contact hypersensitivity. Immunosuppression was induced in C57BL/6N Crj mice by exposure of the dorsal skin or the eyes to a 10 kJ/m2 dose of UV-B radiation from 20SE sunlamps, followed by sensitization with 0.5% fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The degree of immunosuppression induced by UV-B eye irradiation was equal to that induced by UV-B skin irradiation. When mice were irradiated with UV-B into the eyes after the optic nerve had been cut, systemic immunosuppression was not induced.